Modular electronics devices are the fundamental building blocks of system customization in suiting one's particular needs. Personal computer systems, for example, are typically outfitted with a receptacle into which the user can slidingly engage a peripheral device, such as a magnetic or optical storage device. The storage device typically has one of either a male or female connector and the receptacle has the other, such that the sliding engagement electrically connects the mating connectors.
Electronics devices have generally evolved to contain more complex circuitry packed into relatively smaller enclosures. For example, a 2.5″ form factor data storage device configured for the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) interface uses an electrical connector with 50 contacts. Packing that many contacts into such a small space means that by their size the contacts are susceptible to bending under normal insertion forces. Any such bending usually occurs during the initial contacting engagement of the male connector pins into misaligned female connector sockets.
Consequently, a significant amount of attention has been paid to ensuring adequate alignment of the connectors. Industry standards are provided for the variety of available interfaces, for example, that specify the size and location of the pins and sockets to ensure that different manufacturers′ components are swappable. However, standardization hasn't solved the problem of damaged pins and sockets from misalignment, so attempts have been made at minimizing the possible misalignment conditions. For example, in some attempted solutions alignment members are attached to the data storage device and the receptacle that engage each other before the pins and sockets are engaged. In other attempted solutions surface features on the pins and sockets facilitate a smoother entry of the pin into a misaligned socket.
These attempts and others like them are relatively expensive to implement, and are increasingly problematic in the face of size and space related constraints. They also do not address the problem of misaligned connectors making initial contacting engagement at only one of the pin and socket pairs, such that the entire engagement force is initially transmitted to only one pin. What is needed is a solution whereby the pins and sockets are deliberately arranged and configured to initially contactingly engage a selected plurality of them, thereby distributing the engagement force across the plurality of pins. It is to these improvements that the embodiments of the present invention are directed.